Hot and Sour Thai Soup

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a 5 day weekend? How I wish!

Yesterday was one of those Sundays which will remain special to me forever – we didn’t go to any fancy restaurants; nor did we go to any paid kids play areas. We just spent some wonderfully relaxed time with the kids at the library – reading books after books, seeing the kids being so happy in the friendly space! I feel so thankful for the lovely cozy time we spent in the little reading nook with our boys, hoping that time would stand still…

But of course Monday comes, just like it did today, along with a long to-do list, nudging me to get back to reality. Ugghhh! Being a stay-at-home mom, weeknight dinner planning and prep is an important question to answer. So today I sharing this awesome Thai soup recipe, which is super quick to make and thankfully does not involve running to the store to get the green/red curry paste! It’s tangy and light (just the way I like it) and quite simple to make.

Recipe: Serves 3-4 hungry stomachs!

Things needed:

1-1.25 ltrs Chicken broth (I make it at home by boiling some chicken with some salt and pepper)

2-3 Lemongrass stalks (I tie them into a knot, so that it’s easier to take them out)

1 thumb of ginger, thinly sliced

1 Lime juice, few leaves and rind grated

2 red chillies, thinly sliced

5-6 spring onions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon sugar (use brown sugar for smokiness)

1 small pumpkin, cut into cubes

100 gms mushrooms (I use Shitake)

1 tbsp Fish sauce

1 cup chicken, boiled and shredded – Optional

1 egg beaten (use egg white to go cholesterol free)

a small pinch of salt

mint, coriander, basil for garnishing

How to make it:

Simmer the chicken stock with lemongrass, ginger, half of the spring onions, red chillies (leave few for garnishing) and sugar for 10 minutes until all the aromatic flavours are infused into the broth. Discard the ingredients after straining the soup. What you will be left behind is a rich smelling clear broth.

Bring the clear broth to a steady simmer again, and this time add in the pumpkin cubes, cook till they are tender but not mushy. This will take about another 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the cubes.

Add in the mushrooms, chicken, fish sauce, squeeze in the limes for some sourness and let the mushrooms cook till soft for 5 minutes.

Gently drop the beaten egg into the hot broth to form long strands of white ribbons.

Serve hot, with garnishing of chillies, mint and coriander leaves and spring onions. Pair with a toast if if you prefer.

This recipe can be made with with just vegetables too if you want to ditch the fish sauce, chicken and egg.

Home made veggie stock, some tofu and carrots, soy-sauce would too make a lovely Asian inspired stew with the beautiful aroma of lemongrass and lime leaves.

Ideas and options are endless when it comes to a bowl of steaming broth, a little tweak here and a twitch there can create a lovely flavourful healthy meal.

Hope this recipe will give you, super moms (and dads) some ideas for meal planning for the week!